1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing device, a method thereof, and a moving body anti-collision device using the image processing device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2000-304856 (hereinafter, referred to as “reference 1”) and Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 11-120499 (hereinafter, referred to as “reference 2”) disclose an anti-collision device which is mounted on an aircraft or a ship, and utilizes GPS (Global Positioning System) or a radar.
Japanese Patent Gazette No. 3260645 (hereinafter, referred to as “reference 3”) discloses a navigation device of ground transportation means, such as a vehicle, by using GPS technique.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2001-337724 (hereinafter, referred to as “reference 4”) discloses a technique of preventing an unmanned vehicle from entering a certain area by using GPS.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 5-143158 (hereinafter, referred to as “reference 5”) discloses a technique of preventing collisions between unmanned vehicles by using wireless monitoring apparatuses.
In recent years, the following technique was proposed, in which a moving body anti-collision device includes a GPS receiver, a speed detector and a direction detector, the moving body anti-collision device obtains GPS position information, speed information and direction information through the above components and transmits the information to other moving bodies, and other moving bodies that received the above information are able to determine whether collisions occur.
In the prior art which utilizes GPS, a large error may be involved when determining the distance between moving bodies because of an inherent accuracy of GPS positioning and precision of GPS receivers. Usually, the error is in the range from several meters to over ten meters. As a result, in a small area where moving bodies are close to each other and a collision may occur, positions of moving bodies cannot be correctly detected.